The Last Leg

The last Leg

We still haven’t shopped for major groceries yet – I’m still trying to weed our way through the leftovers and canned/frozen quick food we have from home. I can make a meal out of very little (a skill I have perfected being dirt poor for years) and it’s not bad most nights! We’ve also kept our meals to one a day, to try to lose some of the weight we put on over the winter eating such amazing food and drinking too much beer, ha.

Our co-worker M said “I’ll have to quit drinking this summer just to prove I CAN” HA!

FINALLY out of California and it’s ridiculous prices – BUT honestly $5.50 isn’t much better. At least we don’t have to pump our own gas.

Yes, for those of you who don’t know – Oregon doesn’t allow you to pump your own gas. Well. It USED to not allow it – they let you if you want, now… but all gas stations are sort of full service. No window cleaning or anything like in the past, but always someone to pump it for you.

It created jobs I guess?

Full service was always so cool. Dad never did full-service lanes, but I always felt like the people who did were ultra-rich, to be able to have someone pump their gas, AND clean their windows and check the fluids. I think I did it once just to see what it was like.

Little did I know if you were ultra-rich, you probably were never AT a gas station, lol.

I have 2 apps I use – Gas buddy and Upside. Upside saved us $16.00 once, but it hasn’t been helpful since. Gas Buddy hasn’t been either – only 1 cent savings on Diesel most times.

There is another app as well, but with us being on 2 lane roads the one that saves us at the truck stops was not useful. There were barely lanes to fit our truck at all, let alone truck stops.

Most tractor-trailers wouldn’t be driving the coastal highway. We were finding out why.

As we wound up the coast, we saw some really remarkable scenery. The Oregon coast is rugged and rocky, with big waves, and cold winds. The pacific is much prettier up here, but it’s cold, and the waves are huge and scary.

The roads were up and down, windy and through narrow trees, bridges and between steep cliffs on one side and rock walls on the other. Up, up, up we’d go, and down, down, down…then it would flatten out, and there would be a town. Wash and repeat.

The further north we trekked the colder it got, and the rainier. In fact the day we headed to the Black sand beach was the only day since before Yosemite we’d seen the sun for more than an hour or so.

As we were driving I messaged my friend – someone we hadn’t seen in some time, and who she and her husband stood in our wedding. They were once our closest friends, but were divorced a few years ago, and she moved to Oregon shortly after it was finalized. She is the mom of the girl who we saw on our first stop in Colorado earlier this past fall.

We were REALLY excited to see her, and I booked 3 days in a town on the coast. I messaged her where we were at and she said “Oh it’s about an hour away from me. I’ll get off at 5 and be there, after that”

What?

An hour away – wait I thought you lived in “XXX”? (Scott actually was the one who thought that, and I never questioned it)

“Well, we probably should have worked THAT detail out beforehand!” she said, LOL! No kidding. How did I miss that!?

It’s fine, I said, stay home tonight, we are going to have to set up and clean up anyway. She didn’t need to drive a freaking HOUR at 6 pm to come to see us.

Our spot was at a REALLY cool little campground (Sorry no photos of the spot– I’m lame, I forgot) and it was just a short, 100-yard walk to the beach. It was a beautiful beach with some rocky outcroppings and a little secluded beach only reachable at low tide. Scott wouldn’t come through so I had to abandon the idea.

We took Odie right away to the beach and he had a blast running through the surf once again. He really loves the ocean. His feet are still bothering him, especially his right one, and I just can’t seem to get them to heal up. I’ve been soaking them almost nightly in a warm solution, and have the stuff I got from the vet back in Vegas I’ve been putting on his feet. They are still itchy, though so I might switch his food again to see if it helps.

When we set up, I took my Tomato plants outside. They look terrible. I had to bring them in, in Yosemite because it was going to snow those two nights, and it hasn’t been warm since. They are NOT HAPPY. I’m not sure if they are going to grow, or produce. It’s just too cold.

We cleaned up the camper, and K showed up at about 2 pm the next day. She got ½ the day off and then was off the rest of the weekend. We hugged, and I cried. It’s been too long.

We had a sort of falling out – but not really. It was mainly because of her hubby – and some other misunderstandings that are long past. We were looking at pictures and realized it had been almost 7 years since we’d last seen each other. It’s crazy how incredibly FAST time goes when you are working, and dealing with family and life. She said ”there is no way…. it has NOT BEEN that long!” and I said “Oh yes…. And explained the last time we saw them was at the lake – when she and T were still together – 2015,” she said “man, that’s just too long” I Agreed.

We had a great time talking and reminiscing and catching up. We headed into town to eat, and her new boytoy? Boyfriend? (he’s 10 years younger than her, lol) met us there. We had to wait a few to get in, and couldn’t sit outside because it was…..raining!

Food was alright and beer was alright. Good but overpriced and not enough choices. More like snacks than dinner, and we were all starving. The waitress was slow and forgot about us I think a couple of times, but the company was great and her new guy is very sweet.

We headed home and told K we’d be by her place in the Am. Her BF had to work, so we were bummed that we wouldn’t see him again. We are both so proud of her though. Moving to Oregon after her divorce, alone and starting completely over. Her Grandmother lives nearby and helped her out with the first place she lived, and she finally was able to buy a house in a couple of years.

She’s been married to/with her ex since she was 17, and had never had to try to make it on her own – yet she did. SUPER proud of her. I hugged her so many times – I miss her terribly and I was so relieved to see nothing has changed between us. Odie played with her doggies and enjoyed some time out of the camper, and not on a leash.

We went to lunch at the pub she hangs out in and it was a much better meal than the night before. It was raining, and chilly but we had the dog and had to eat outside. At least it’s a covered area. That little town was a cute little place with a good feel. Not nearly as sketchy as some of the other coastal towns we’d been through, and had a good vibe.

I borrowed her washer and dryer, and after it was done – she asked if we were going to stay to see her boy again.

We had to head out, though – Scott didn’t want to drive the unfamiliar 2-lane highway back in the dark. We stopped to get gas, and pack up for our last trek.

It was a long and windy road….

Sounds like a scary book, haha. And we were actually listening to one. We had finished our Neil Peart book “Ghost Rider” and started another book that took place right where we were at – a novel by Dean Koontz called Intensity.

I’ve made Scott a Dean Koontz Fan of sorts – but this book was dragging on too long, and he yelled at the radio “Would someone just DIE already!?” LOL I chuckled. More of an action or mystery guy….I guess we won’t be finishing that one!

The road WAS windy and STEEP. It's definitely a really cool drive, if not a little stressful.

At least the roads improved.

It was so funny, though – talking about shitty roads. It was like déjà vu up by Crescent City just before heading into Oregon. There was a section of Highway that basically fell into the sea. It was right around 2016 I think, right when we came through there – with T and headed in the opposite direction.

We got stuck on the highway headed to our Hotel room because of a rollover truck/horrible accident, and I’m not sure what but we either made it through just before they closed it completely or got through right when they opened it back up.

Anyway, when we were driving south they have these stoplights that stop you, then let you down the one-way section of the highway being worked on, without having a flagger person standing there all day long. It was just south of Crescent City and it was pretty badly damaged.

Well, we came around the corner and the SAME section of highway was STILL one way and STILL Damaged as hell. Good LORD how long does it take to fix a freaking road?! LOL. 6 YEARS? SERIOUSLY?

AND even if we were to divert out of Crescent City and go the way we’d come down that time in 2016 we couldn’t – due to the highway being closed because of a rollover/horrible accident! So strange!

We asked the kid at the gas station pumping our gas (weird still) what the heck, and he said “Stage stops” That’s about how far the horses could go without needing to stop – so there’s a town on the coast about every 25 miles or so.

One place I didn’t realize was Tillamook. We all know the brand Tillamook – Cheese, Ice cream, etc. I always thought it was in Wisconsin or something – I never really thought about it. Nope, it’s in Western Oregon. We went past the factory and I said “OH!”

We stopped at a gas station and I went into pee and grab a snack. I was stupid hungry (We’d eaten a big meal at noon with K the day before, and hadn’t eaten anything since) I’d snacked for dinner, but didn’t make a meal, so it had been almost 24 hours since either of us had eaten anything substantial.

I walked in, and…..Was in a feed store.

I looked around and saw the bins of baby chicks and ducks. The feed sacks, heat lamps, boots, fence…all the things a small version of Tractor’s Supply would have. No food. They did have a bathroom, so I peed and looked around and found an ice cream bin. I grabbed a Twix Ice cream and thought “Well. It’s not great but maybe I won’t pass out later. “

We finally pulled into our new place of residence for the next 4 ish months. We walked up and Scott cheerily said “Hia we’re the new work campers!!!” The kid looks at us and says “OH. OK” Goes in the back and hands us a packet. Fill this out and bring it back in the AM.

……..

“So….Where do we go then?” Scott said.

He just looked at us and opened the inside and pointed to spot on the map that was circled. Here. Just go down to the end and make a left.

“OK….”

That was weird.

I mean we’re not up for any sort of fanfare but have been at least greeted by ….someone….when we got in.

It was raining….again…and cold, and a Sunday so we figured it was just slow.

We pull down to our spot – and it’s lush and green…..and overgrown.

Most of the campers down the hollow are old, and probably permanent residents.

I looked at our spot and it was very small. There was some trash and some dog poop around, and the fire ring was bent at an odd angle. The spot was uneven, there was a huge mud hole right in front of it, and there wasn’t room for us to even put our awnings out, utilize the garage, or put our tent up for rain /bug shelter because of a tree(s) and brush in the way.

I emailed the person I had been talking to right away and said “Please help our site is WAY too small – we need a bigger one and need to know what to do” She was off and apparently offsite for a few days she had said in an email earlier in the week.

This was supposed to be a resort – and felt less like a resort and more like a state park. Lots of grass and trees, and more of a natural setting.

Oh yea, that “Resort” use of the word, lol.

I was hangry. I WAS Danny DeVito. The Twix didn’t do shit for my attitude and it was already several hours behind me.

Should have had the snickers.

It was cold and wet and I just wanted to pee and have something to eat. We still had at least ½ hour of setup ahead before I could do that, though.

GAH!

So I called the front. The same slow talking personality-voided kid answered and said “I’ll have to call someone”

He called me back in a few minutes and said “He doesn’t know what to do with it, only (The person we had been speaking to) Can deal with that – so just park there until AM and you can move in the morning.

OH hell NO.

I was NOT going to set up in the rain, unpack all my shit just to hook up and move the next day.

I said “Oh man, don’t let us start out our relationship like THIS!”…..(Calm TF down Nikki – just stop) I took a breath. OK so the site next to us is MUCH bigger, and empty so how about we just move to that spot and IF we need to move we can THEN? How’s that?

No response.

OK well thanks for your help! I hung up.

That is one thing that I DESPISE as a former employer and manager is someone saying “I don’t know” and then just leaving it at that. He called the GM of the park and he didn’t even bother to come down to discuss and see what he could do, how he could help. I realize he’s not in charge of those things, but still. It irritated me being just left to deal with it ourselves. Maybe it shouldn’t have and I was making something out of nothing.

My mood sucks, I need to eat. This weather is sucking the life out of me, too. Especially since I’m rocking a pretty awesome tan, and haven’t worn shorts in weeks.

We backed in and got quickly set up before it started to rain again. I finally peed and ate and felt better, but then felt guilty for being snippy with the kid up front. Wasn’t his fault and there WAS nothing HE could do.

We had several people come out of their campers and told them of the issue we had, and whoever was in one of them said “It shouldn’t be an issue I don’t think – I know she will want you all to be comfortable with your spot”. That made me feel a little better.

The next morning I got a response email – after I updated her with our situation that we’d taken the spot next to it, and if that would work. It fit us perfectly and there were multiple other spots open for others if need be.

She said it would be fine and to come on up with paperwork.

We filled out all of our stuff and went ahead and jumped in the truck to go to the office. This is a fairly spread-out place and it looks like we will be using our truck to get around. Man, I wished we could figure out some little electric bikes or mopeds. It seems ALL the parks we’ve been in – have been huge and we have needed it.

We spoke with the asst. manager lady and she said even though there is an issue with the 50/30 it would be fine, and she figured it out anyway. I said "50/30?" She said yeah your site is 30amp only – I needed the 50 for the people I promised 50 for, but I have it worked out I think anyway. You’re fine where you are.

This spot was much better. We went to the shop and borrowed a lawn mower, shovel, and weed wacker and cleaned things up right away. I was feeling a little better about the spot - and that we could stay in the nicer one, but.....

Huh.

I distinctly remember you promising US 50 amp, and that was the deciding factor with us coming here. I didn’t SAY that, there is no reason to beat a dead horse, but – I wouldn’t have been happy with 30 amp. You can’t run a rig our size well off 30 amp. That might have been a deal-breaker.

I looked back in our correspondence….

Nope, I was wrongo. I did agree to 30 amp. IF we had to. Omg. Yikes. I need to not do shit like that. Why did I think she said we could have one of the last spots of 50 amp?

Maybe it was in our phone call.

IDK but I will NEED to have it in WRITING from now on.

Site photos, Amps, hours working, our rig SIZE and needs. ALL. OF. IT.

We met our supervisor after we got all checked in. We will again be in activities, but not in a management capacity.

He’s a youngish guy, Short, round, with a short beard, glasses, a vest. Smiley and nice. Everyone said we’d like him.

He asked our background and we gave him a short run-down. He asked me if I knew how to make soap…

Haha. UM …yes. (HAHA!) He said they do a melt-and-pour soap craft weekly and need someone who knows what they’re doing. Well, awesome! I think I can handle that. They also do the stuff we’d done before. Weekly movies and popcorn, tie-die, crafts, yard games, and more. The place is HUGE and a lot of it is in real need of a facelift.

Later, He walked us around our first couple hours paid and showed us all the stuff they had going on. The place is huge and spread out. Lots going on, and a really sad little golf course.

Apparently “Maintenance” doesn’t mess with any of the “Activities” stuff.

Seriously? Activities is like, the FACE of a resort – you mean you leave it up to this smiley soft man who doesn’t look like he’s ever started a chainsaw in his life to deal with ALL of the maintenance of their stuff? Yikes. Ya’ll know we had a fence and landscape business in the past right?

We can get to work right away improving all of the things that need it – instead of being off all week?

They said before Memorial Day that they wouldn’t have any hours for us other than a few on the weekends. Now that is something I DO remember and she said we could arrive anytime March-April. So if we don’t have hours until the weekends how are we getting our 40 hours? (sigh)

See, now we could have worked an additional month in Mesa and missed all this rainy weather – or the majority of it….but it’s 117 in the shade today out there, so …what’s worse. Not seeing the sun for a month and being stuck inside, cold, or not seeing a drop of rain for a month and being stuck in the camper because the dog can’t step outside because it’s 117 in the shade? Both suck in my opinion. Haha.

Colorado girl here. Up until a few years ago it was the best of both worlds.

Over their next few days, several people came by to introduce themselves, including 3 cats. Some of the people live here year-round and also work here, so their cats are off-leash and wander around.

MY cat is losing her mind watching them all – and we’ve had a couple of small encounters, nothing major.

She does NOT know how to cat though. We will get her introduced slowly to everyone. She is kind of grumpy pants.

Our next-door neighbors said they were in Virginia over the winter, and we said “We were in Mesa”

"OH you were! Where at? “

We told them and she nearly fell off her chair.

"THAT’S WHERE WE GO EVERY YEAR FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS! Except this past year.

HA!"

Good lord.

“You know “so and so” was the BEST ACTIVITIES DIRECTOR EVER.

Oh god not THAT guy again – we can’t get away from the “Best activity director ever” guy. What’s the chances? I mean…..Maybe this isn’t such a diverse and big world we’re working in after all. . I wished we could have met that guy though – I mean he had such an impact on everyone. It’s crazy.

We couldn’t do a whole lot the next few weeks. We did the touristy stuff, visited a few sites, went to the beach a bunch, and took a few walks, but it was not a lot or for long.

It’s been raining for a month straight almost. I think they’ve gotten 20 + Inches in this region since the first of April.

I think we’ll have to put up our tent and mosquito netting finally. It’s SO wet here, with so much water surrounding us. Skunk cabbage and Salmonberry plants. That’s about ALL I know about what’s growing around here, but after a walk the other day – it’s going to be a requirement!

We stopped at the beach and found a trail nearby to walk. So we took off and it was wet and green, and then all of a sudden we were engulfed with mosquitoes. They so thought I almost ate a couple breathing them in. I yelled at Scott and said NOOOOOPE we have to GO! NOW! I ran back the other way waving my hands. I swell up badly from mosquito bites, and I had NO bug spray on like a dummy.

I was thinking it had been too cold for those assholes – it is in Colorado at this temp – but NOT here. If we go back out – I’ll be wearing protection next time.

Being from an arid and high elevation climate is the exact opposite. Mosquitoes aren’t a “Thing” as much, and I generally don’t need bug spray unless we’re in certain areas. Not normally on a hike. Haha….

Wet, coastal. Nothing here is familiar. Much like Georgia was.

Speaking of Georgia.

I gave Scott the job of finding our next gig.

Did I mention that before? I don’t know. Anyhoo, HE will be 100% in charge of finding it. So far he’s just dabbling, but….. If he strikes out I am pretty sure I know where we will be going. Can anyone call the Barge for us? 😉

Ok, I’m off here. Let’s hope the rest of the summer is better than it’s started. Nothing major, just a few hiccups.

I’m just cranky. I’m sad. I’m missing home in a bad way. I started crying the other day. I don’t know what came over me, but a combination of going through old disk photos and getting them backed up, missing my kid, the constant rain….I am just REALLY homesick and it’s getting worse.

I love Colorado in spring – but it’s been gross and windy and smoky. Lots of fires and a lot of dry, terrible winds. So being at the property would be one of THOSE years.

I still miss it. Right now more than ever.